Autumn Hills resident Marjorie Woods celebrates her 100th birthday with friends and family via Zoom on one of the iPads donated by UITS, with assistance from Autumn Hills staffer HD Smith. (Courtesy photo)

UITS donates iPads to local senior centers and IU health

Autumn Hills resident Marjorie Woods celebrates her 100th birthday with friends and family via Zoom on one of the iPads donated by UITS, with assistance from Autumn Hills staffer HD Smith. (Courtesy photo)

Nursing home visits are still restricted throughout the state of Indiana due to COVID-19, but Indiana University’s technology services department is helping seniors maintain the ability to still see and talk to their loved ones through a donation of iPads.

University Information Technology Services donated sanitized iPads to multiple local senior centers and IU Health Bloomington Hospital, hoping they could put them to use since the university no longer could.

The donation came after UITS went through their inventory of IU equipment and found iPads that had limited function but were still capable of videoconferencing. UITS made a handful of iPads available last month, and the senior centers are already seeing the positive impact its played in their day-to-day lives due to applications like FaceTime and Zoom.

Autumn Hills Assisted Living started using the iPad to help with its SMILE program, which records the patient’s attendance and activities for families to stay up to date on how they’re doing.

“Prior to IU donating the iPads, we only had half-size iPads and our phones, so the patients couldn’t really see the image on the screen because it was so small,” said Jacqueline Routt, Autumn Hills Assisted Living Administrator. “It’s helped them to see their loved ones a little bit more clearly.”

At Hearthstone Health Campus, the senior center has a handful of Zoom meetings a day, while some residents also use the iPad for doctor appointments.

The iPad allows patients to talk with family members during their doctor appointments rather than doing it alone. According to Hearthstone’s Life and Enrichment Director Mackenzie McGregor, one of their patients felt a lot better during her recent doctor appointment because she got to have her husband on the call with her.

“You can really tell a change in their moods when they talk to their families because when you don’t get to see someone, you get a little upset so getting to see someone you care about lifts your spirits a little bit,” McGregor said.

Assisted-living facility Brookdale Bloomington also received an iPad from UITS. Outside of the normal FaceTime and Zoom calls, they’ve used the tablet for music, puzzles and different games.

According to the facility’s Health and Wellness Director Lola Hayes, some of the patients don’t understand why their family members haven’t been coming around, but the iPads have helped bridge that gap and it’s made a huge difference.

“I’ve heard several of them say, ‘Well there you are, I wondered why you weren’t able to come and see me,’ then they explain the virus to them,” Hayes said. “They may not remember everything because it’s a phone conversation, but in the beginning of it, they knew why.”

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COVID-19 COUNT

Jun 5, 2020

Updated 7 hrs ago

Last updated noon Saturday, June 6, from the Indiana State Department of Health. Cases are listed by county of residence. Private lab reporting may be delayed and will be reflected in the map and count when results are received at ISDH.

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